Hook and eye.



No. 785,833. PATENTED MAR. 28, 1905.

- P. L. PRIEST.

HOOK AND EYE.

APPLIOATION FILED MAY 6. 1904.

WITNESSES. INVENTOR I,

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A TTOHNE Y8 UNITED STATES Patented March 28, 1905.

FRANK L. PRIEST, OF HOUSTON, TEXAS.

HOOK AND EYE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent NO. 785,833, dated March 28, 1905.

Application filed May 6, 1904. Serial No. 206,653-

fo ail whom! 711? 71716111.] concern.-

Be it known that I, FRANK L. PRIEsT, a citi- Zen of the United States, and a resident of Houston, in the county of Harris and State of Texas, have invented a new and Improved Hook and Eye, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to hooks and eyes employed generally for the closure of the flaps of garments, and has for its object to provide simple novel features of construction for a hook and eye that enable rapid and cheap manufacture, adapt these coacting parts to be readily engaged with each other, be closed with a snap by lateral pressure, that will not slacken or have play where they engage each other, cannot become accidentally detached, have resilience between the engaged members that insures their remaining connected, and does not permit a gap between the dressfiaps which the members join together.

The invention consists of novel features of construction that adapt the hook and eye for taken substantially on the line 5 5 in Fig. 6,.

and Fig. 6 is a side view of the improved hook and eye hooked together.

The Improved hook and eye are formed of resilient wire strands of like thickness, a sin-- gle piece of wire having proper length being provided for each of said coacting parts.

The hook is formed by producing two similar bends a, which are nearly right-angular, at a suitable distance apart and equally distant from the longitudinal center of the wire strand of which the hook is formed, the straight member t that is between the bends a constituting the flat nose of the hook. Two similar short side members 6 are formed below the bends a by bending the wire at two points 6, from which the wire extends in the same plane and general direction, producing two spaced members 6 that are slightly divergent, and each merges into an obtuse angular bend 7)*, thus turning the equal remaining portions of the wire strand toward each other. At a suitable distance from the bends 7/ a similar obtuse angular bend if is formed on each end portion of the wire strand, thus producing two similar hook members 7) and disposing said portions of the wire in contact, forming a doubled shank member 5 that is at the transverse center of the head portion of the hook which has been described. The shank members 71 are terminated at a suitable distance from the bends b by bending each remaining portion of the wire into a looped ring, these similar loops being each formed with a straight member 5 that is the end bar of the loop, and a curved member 5 which bends away from the straight member and curves toward the shank 7/, thus providing closed ring eyes, which receive thread when the hook is sewed upon a garment and when so secured prevent the book from turning sidewise.

The side members 7) of the hook proper are preferably bent slightly toward the shank If, thus giving hook shape to the head-bar Z) and side members 5. At the junction of the hook members I) with the bends and at the outer sides of side members I) indents c are formed therein, the use of which will be hereinafter explained.

The wire strand of which the improved eye is formed is first bent to double it at its center of length, thus forming an elongated loop 0 thereon. The shank of the loop a, that is produced by contact of the two portions of the doubled wire, is terminated in two nearly right-angular bends a, from which oppositely extend two head members 0 The length of the alined head members 0 is defined by the formation of two similar acute angular bends on respective portions of the wire, from which extend the eye members 6 toward each other, merging at their ends in similar obtuse angular bends 0 The bends dispose the remaining portions of the wire material parallel and in loose contact with each other, thus producing an eye-shank c. The shank e", of suitable length, is defined in length by the formation of opposite right-angular bends 6 on the end portions of the wire, and at equal distances from the bends 0 each end. portion (5 of said wire is curved around into loop form, the curved members (1" of said loops being disposed in contact with the shank a at opposite points.

The loops just described afford means for the attachment of the eye on the flap of a garment opposite the hook that is sewed upon the other flap thereof, the eye being in a like manner with the hook sewed in place by thread that is engaged with the loops on the eye in the usual manner.

It will be noticed that the distance between the inner surfaces of the acute angular bends a" is slightly less than the distance between the exterior surfaces of the hook members 1/, so that when the head of the hook is pressed laterally into the opening in the eye at the bends e" the resilient material of the eye yields between the members of the looped end a and the members of the shank 0, thus permitting the hook members 7/ to pass into the eye and the inner surfaces of the bends e snap into locked engagement within the indents c.

It is to be understood that while the hook may be readily pressed into the eye and withdrawn therefrom by an easy outward-pulling movement the spring-latched engagement of the hook members 7/ in the bends will positively hold the hook engaged within the eye until it is designedly released.

As the eye members a" trend toward each other and merge into the shank a, it will be seen that the hook-receiving opening in the eye is essentially triangular and that the hook members L are held therein from sliding, so that while the hook may rock on the eye there is practically no end play between them. Hence a tightly-fitting dress having the improved hooks and eyes may be closed readily without having to pull the flaps they are on past each other an objectionable degree to effect the connection of the hooks and eyes.

As shown in Fig. 6, with the exception of a slight projection of the hook members t 5 beyond the plane of the eye when engaged therewith the coupled hooks and eyes are respectively flat and avoid bulk or any discomforting projections therefrom when in use for closing the flaps of a tightly-fitting dress.

The device is capable of being produced in different sizes to suit the wants of users and is, furthermore, adapted for rapid production at moderate cost.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent 1. In a hook and eye, an eye bent from a resilient wire at its center of length, forming an elongated loop at the front of the eyehole, said eyehole being triangular and produced by bending the wire strand in opposite directions from the base of the loop, then toward each other an equal degree, producing like acute angles, then bending each member of the wire strand to form equal obtuse angles and disposing said members parallel with each other, forming a shank that is provided with loops formed of the remaining portions of the wire strand.

2. In a hook and eye, the combination with an eye bent from resilient wire, having an essentially triangular eye member, a resilient loop extended at the front of said eye mem ber, a shank and lateral loops on the ends of the shank, of a hook formed of wire having two short hook members spaced apart by a straight head-bar, said hook members each having an indent in its outer side at the lower end thereof, the material being bent at the indents so as to provide two divergent head members, ending in acute angular bends providing two other head members that trend toward each other and terminate in obtuse angular bends, from which extend two straight shank members, at opposite ends of which the end portions of the wire are bent into lateral loops, the hook members entering the triangu-lar hole in the eye, and the resilient members of said eye having a snapped engagement within the indents in the hook members and holding said hook from accidental release.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

FRANK L. PRIEST.

\Vitnesses:

J. E1). HILL, S. M. KENNEDY. 

